A Mokkori Christmas
by ryouko70
Summary: This is a story I wrote a very long time ago. I broke it up into 4 parts, to make it a little easier to read.
1. Chapter 1

**A Mokkori Christmas**

**The characters from City Hunter and these other shows don't belong to me. They belong to their creators, comics, and...well...whoever else owns them. ^_^;; No infringement was intended. Like I'd ever make any money off this. ^_^**

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><p><strong>Ryouko<strong>: I'd like to thank my friend, Abel, for his help.  
><strong>Abel<strong>: Hey! Don't blame this on me!  
><strong>Ryouko<strong>: Well, you gave me the idea!  
><strong>Abel<strong>: I was joking! I didn't think you'd actually write this!  
><strong>Ryouko<strong>:*makes face* Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!  
><strong>Abel<strong>:*makes face* Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiida!  
>*more faces* *both stop and look out* *they stop and grin sheepishly*<br>**Ryouko**: Gomen. Umm. I hope you enjoy the fic!  
><strong>Abel<strong>: I still can't believe you wrote this."  
><strong>Ryouko<strong>:*grumbles* Shut up.

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><p>Kaori looked at herself in her full-length mirror. It was Christmas Eve and she had cooked a special dinner for her and Ryo. And to add to that, she was wearing a dress she bought a few days ago. A dress that she bought just for that night. It was a cheery red dress that had a neckline that hinted to what was beneath and a hem that that showed off her legs well. "<em>This<em> should get Ryo's attention."

"Yaho! Kaori? Where are you?"

Kaori felt her heart beat faster as she hurried out the door of her room and to the dining area. She leaned back against the table, trying to create a sexy pose, and called out, "here I am, Ryo-chan." Ryo came to the kitchen and stared at her a moment.

In an instant, Ryo was in front of Kaori, with his hands on her shoulders. His eyes met hers. The look of seriousness took her breath away. "Kaori...as I look and gaze in you eyes...I have to ask you one thing."

Kaori could feel her heart start pounding harder. 'He's going to propose to me,' her mind screamed. 'He's really going to propose to me! Sonna!'

A big smile spread across his face as he said in a higher-pitched voice. "What's for dinner? I'm starving!"

A dragonfly dropped out of the sky, bonking Kaori on the head. 'This isn't working. Try looking seductive. It shouldn't be too hard. I've seen other woman do it,' she thought to herself. Pushing herself up onto the table, she leaned across. "I'm for dinner," she said, trying to use the playful, feminine voice she heard Saeko use often.

Ryo's head dropped and he whimpered. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Kaori sat straight up on the table. "EH?"

Ryo whimpered even more. "I want a real meal, not a cheap imitation."

A blue aura formed around Kaori. Grabbing a mallet, she smashed Ryo into the wall. "You insensitive jerk!" She pulled the mallet away and watched Ryo fall to the floor. She stormed over to him and grabbed him by the lapels, shaking his vigorously. "Can't you ever be nice to me just once?" She stared at him a moment. Why wasn't he coming to? "Ryo?" She dropped him and brought her hands to her mouth. "Ara! What have I done?"

She knelt down and checked for a heartbeat. His heart was still beating, plus he was breathing. She sighed with relief. Then sighed with exasperation. "If you didn't annoy and hurt me so much, I wouldn't keep hitting you." Grabbing his collar, she dragged him up to his room and into bed.

Ryo groaned a little and pried one eye open. It was pitch black in the room. Looking at his clock, he saw it was almost midnight. What had happened? Trying to sit up, he groaned. His head was pounding. "What hit me," he asked aloud to no one.

"I think it was a 2000t mallet."

Ryo silently gasped, his headache forgotten. That voice! He knew it! But it couldn't be. He looked in the direction that the voice had come from. He saw a shadowy figure sitting, slouched forward, in a chair. He fumbled for the lights and blinked rapidly in the bright light. He looked at the figure, rubbed his eyes, and looked again. "Maki...mura?"

The figure looked up and smiled. "Hello, Ryo." Makimura stood and walked over to the bed. "I've come to warn you, Ryo. Tonight, you're going to be visited by three spirits."

"Oh? Will they all be babes?" At the very thought of it, Ryo began drooling. Then he began to giggle perversely.

"..." Makimura took off his glasses and began cleaning them. "No, Ryo. In fact, they are all men."

"Eeeeeeeehhhhh?" Ryo began whimpering. "I never get to have any fun."

"This isn't a fun visit, Ryo. These spirits are coming for a reason. These spirits are the Ghosts of Mokkori Past, Present, and Future."

Ryo instantly brightened. "Mokkori? When? When? When?"

"The first will come at 1am. The second, one hour later. The third, will come, when he choses." Makimura put his now clean glasses back on.

"Three Mokkori ghosts. Ahahahahaha! I'm so happy! Ah, Maki-chan! You are a good friend!" He leaped at Makimura with the intention of hugging him, but instead, found himself on the floor.

Makimura turned to look behind himself, at Ryo on the floor. He pushed his glasses up his nose. "I _am_ dead, Ryo."

"Ha, ha, ha! Hai, hai. I forgot." Ryo gave a sheepish grin.

Makimura sighed. "I have to leave."

"So soon? Can't you stay a while. Let me go get Kaori. She'll be happy to see you."

A pained look crossed Makimura's face, but then it softened. "No. I can't. I was only to visit you and give you the warning. Now that I have given it, I must leave. Goodbye, Ryo."

Ryo nodded solemnly at his former partner. "Makimura."

Makimura gave him a soft smile and faded away. After he disappeared, Ryo collapsed on the bed and was soon asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2. City Hunter still doesn't belong to me.**

Ryo was awoken by the feeling that someone was in his room. He looked at his clock. 1:00am. The time that the first ghost was suppose to appear. He heard a sound. Grabbing his gun, he quietly made his way to the light-switch.

Flicking on the light, he saw a figure going through his girly magazines. The light caused the figure to turn around, with a magazine in hand. Upon seeing the gun pointed at him, the figure dropped the magazine and raised his hands.

"Don't shoot! I'm the Ghost of Mokkori Past."

Ryo approached him and got a good look at him. "Ataru? The Ghost of Mokkori Past is an anime character?"

Ataru ginned up at him. "Hai. Uh...ummm...great magazines you've got here." He cleared his throat and tried to look serious, but didn't quite master it. "Now, look, Ryo. I've come to show you the past."

"Where are we going first," Ryo asked.

"Well, not anywhere, yet. I have to get someone first. You see, I'm training the new guy, and he took off on me. A guy named Carrot."

"Carrot?"

"Hai!" Reaching into one of the girlie magazines, Ataru pulled out a small figure. "See?"

Ryo looked at the figure Ataru held. "Son Goku? He's the new guy?"

Ataru looked at the boy he held. "Oops! Wrong Carrot." He pushed that Carrot back and pulled out a not-too-attractive guy, dressed in loose pants, and a brown tank-top. A moment later they heard a woman's voice call out, "Darling!" Ataru and Carrot cringed.

Suddenly there were four people at the bedroom door. One woman was dressed in tight, revealing clothing, another woman wore glasses and a long, red coat, a third woman(or was that a guy?) had long black hair and wore a white robe, the fourth was a big, muscular guy. "Darling," the scantily-clad woman said. "I knew we'd find you here! Even though I told you I'm not going to have you with any other woman, but me!"

"Chocolate!" The two women grabbed him and dragged him from the room. "Why can't I ever have any fun? It's not fair!"

Ataru sighed. "Well, I guess I'm not training anymore. So we can go now. But I want to make one thing clear, the memories we see will be the ones that you want to see. Understand?" Ryo nodded, though he wasn't really sure what the kid was talking about. "Good. Now grab my sleeve."

"Hey! I don't like guys!"

"I said to grab my sleeve, not take my arm! If you don't grab my sleeve, I won't be able to take you."

Ryo reluctantly took Ataru's sleeve. The room disappeared and was replaced by another room. A firing range. "Do you remember this," Ataru asked.

"Hai. It's the firing range. I've been here several times."

Towards the end of the room, Ryo saw himself, only younger, firing at the target. He was about to turn to Ataru and ask him about it, when footsteps were heard on the stairs. A woman's footsteps. Turning towards the sound, he saw Saeko, only she looked younger too. Like she looked a few years ago. Ryo grinned from ear to ear and lept towards her. "Saeko-chan!" To his surprise he went through her and landed in a heap on the floor. He turned his head to look back. She was still standing there as if nothing had just happened.

Ataru walked over to Ryo, squatted down, and hit him on the head. "Baka! She can't see or hear you! No one can! They are memories. All of these are memories." Ryo sat up and watched the scene before him.

The memory Saeko walked up to the memory Ryo. "Ryo-chan, what are you doing here on Christmas? You should be with family and friends."

"I have no family or friends," he replied, taking the empty shells out of the gun and putting new ones in.

"But what about Makimura. It's true, you two have only been working together a few months, but I know you have become good friends. Why not spend the time with him?"

Ryo didn't answer, but only stared at his gun. Saeko gave a small sigh. "Well, I'm heading off for dinner. Then to a bath house, where I know the owner. I'm sure I could talk him into letting me and someone else use it." She raised her eyebrows and waited expectantly, but Ryo didn't even turn to look at her. She walked away, but turned back a moment. Ryo still never looked at her or moved. A look of disappointment, mixed with sympathy, crossed her face. Shaking her head sadly, Saeko turned and walked away.

"Why didn't you go with her? For once she actually invited you to join her. If you would have gone, things would have turned out differently." The real Ryo didn't answer. He just watched the memory of himself aim the gun and fire once more at the target. "You were afraid, weren't you? Afraid to get too close to someone."

"People I get close to, end up dying," Ryo replied quietly. So quietly that Ataru almost didn't hear it.

"Is that why you're afraid to get close to Kaori? Afraid to let her know how you feel?"

Ryo lips pursed for a moment while that statement sunk in. Then he turned to Ataru and a most ghastly expression appeared on his face. His voiced raised a few degrees as he whined, "how can you joke like that! What a horrible thing to say to a person! Besides, you're one to talk! You can't commit to Lum!" Ataru looked embarrassed. Ryo nodded triumphantly.

Ataru, not to happy about being reminded of his own love life, grabbed Ryo's arm. The firing range faded away, to be replaced by a kitchen. Ryo's kitchen to be precise. Ryo was sitting at the table, eating breakfast. "This is Christmas a few years later," Ataru told him.

"Ryo? Are you here?"

Both the real Ryo and the memory one turned towards the voice, as they said in unison, "Makimura." The memory Ryo waved the memory Makimura over to the table, with his fork. "What brings you here, Maki-chan?"

Makimura handed him a wrapped box. "Merry Christmas, Ryo."

Ryo took the box and looked it over. "What's this?"

"A present."

"I can see that."

"Kaori asked me if we could buy you something for Christmas. I'm afraid it's not much, but with money...well, you know. I hope you like it. Kaori picked it out."

Ryo unwrapped the box and opened it. He pulled out a dark red sweater with a simple pattern of huge, white snowflakes on it. Ryo tried it on. It fit perfectly. "How did you know my size?"

"Well, Kaori had me try it on. It was a little big on me, so I was sure it'd fit you." He took his glasses off and began cleaning them.

"Thank you, Makimura. But I haven't gotten..."

"Don't worry about it, Ryo," he said, putting his glasses back on. "It's because of you that I am able to take care of Kaori. That's a gift that lasts the year round."

The real Ryo smiled fondly. "That was Makimura for you. He was more concerned with his sister than himself. As long as she was cared for."

The scene shifted again. Now they were in an apartment that Ryo remembered. In the small kitchen area stood a teenage Kaori, busily cooking dinner. "Hello, Aniki," she called out, as the door opened. She turned to smile at her older brother, who smiled back at her with affection. She looked beyond him for a moment. "He didn't come?"

"No. He said he had other plans. Maybe next year."

"But there was no next year was there," Ataru said.

"No," The real Ryo said. "He was killed the following spring."

He watched as Makimura and Kaori worked together in the kitchen. Kaori laughed a lot and Makimura smiled as they cooked and talked. Or rather, as Kaori talked and Makimura listened and nodded. It was a scene that was common for Kaori and Makimura, but sadly one that Ryo had never been part of.

"It's time to go."

"No! Can't we stay a little longer?"

"No, there's one more place we must visit."

The scene disappeared and was replaced by a graveyard. "Why did you bring me here?" Ataru pointed to an area of the graveyard. Ryo looked over and saw a figure kneeling before a grave. He moved closer. "Kaori."

It was indeed Kaori, kneeling over the grave of her brother, sobbing. She simply wasn't sniffling as tears rolled down her face. She was curled up, her body jerking convulsively as sobs wrenched themselves from her. "This is Christmas one year later," Ataru said softly. "The first Christmas she spent without him. And she had to face it alone. You were never there to comfort her through what was a very hard time. Instead, you were hitting the bars, flirting with the women."

Ryo looked at the ground. How could he say that is was a hard time for him as well, that he went to the bars to escape. Makimura had been like the brother he never had. And the guilt he still felt about letting his best friend die. Plus, the new guilt that he never spent one Christmas with him and never would. "Forgive me, Makimura," he whispered. "Forgive me, Kaori.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. When he opened them, he no longer saw the ground beneath his feet. Instead it was a floor. Raising his head, he saw he was back in his room again. Ataru was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3. Nope, still doesn't belong to me.**

Ryo was awoken again by a slight sound coming from somewhere in the house. Looking at the clock, he saw it was 2:05am. "Some ghost," he thought. "Can't even be on time." He heard the sound again. Grabbing his gun, he quietly made his way through the house.

Suddenly a small figure appeared in the hallway. It had a handkerchief over it's head, tied under his nose. A thief! Ryo pointed his gun at the intruder, then saw who it was. "H...Happosai?"

The figure stopped and smiled at him. "Ah, Ryo, my boy! I was coming for you!"

Ryo squatted down to the old man. "You're the Ghost of Mokkori Present?" Happosai nodded. "Another anime character?"

Happosai clobbered him. "Don't be disrespectful to your elders!" Without waiting for any more comments, he went on. "Sorry, I'm late, but I had to make a stop." He held up a bra to show what that stop was for. He threw another to Ryo. "Here, I grabbed one for you, too!"

"Whaaaaaaaaa!" Ryo grabbed it in mid-flight with his teeth. A moment later he had it on his head, dancing around happily. "Ah, lovely Bra-chan! Hahahahaha!" He turned, smiling to the small figure. "You're a wonderful ghost! Where did you get these?"

"Kaori's room."

Ryo seemed to deflate. He dropped the bra on the floor. "And I thought you were a ghost with taste."

Happosai picked up the bra. "Well, if you don't want it. But I didn't come here for Kaori's bra and panties." Ryo gave him a look. "Okay, okay! So, I did! I also came to show you events from the present. Now pick me up!"

Ryo picked the old man up and placed him on his shoulder. The room disappeared. It was replaced by a Police gym. In the gym, were two women working out alone. Ryo smiled and drooled. "Ah! Saeko-chan! Miki-chan!" He ran towards them and jumped at them. Like before, he sailed right through them and landed on the floor.

Happosai, who had somehow managed to stay on Ryo's shoulder, hit him on the head. "Baka! Weren't you already told that these are images? They are not real! Not yet, anyways."

"Even so," Ryo said and began watching them. Drool ran down his face as he watched Saeko and Miki, dressed in leotards, lift weights. Happosai, too, watched them with ecstasy and wondered if it were possible to steal their underwear.

Miki put the weight down and let out her breath slowly. She turned Saeko, a look of intensity on her face. "It's time to pump something other than iron."

"Eh," both Ryo and Happosai said. Then their eyes got big as they thought about what Miki just said. Ryo laughed. "Ahahaha! Miki, you little pervert! I never knew you could be like this!" Ryo was drooling, feeling very Mokkori, and Happosai was nearly faint with the thought of what they felt sure was going to happen next.

Saeko raised an eyebrow and looked at Miki curiously. Miki slowly moved nearer to Saeko, then leaned in close. "I've got a flat tire. Do you have an air pump?"

A dragonfly fell from above. It bounced off of Ryo's head, then off of Happosai's head. Happosai fell sideways off Ryo shoulder, as Ryo fell back. "What a cruel joke," Ryo moaned.

The ceiling above him, disappeared. He was now looking at the sky. Sitting up, he saw he was in the graveyard. Happosai jumped back up on Ryo's shoulder, before Ryo stood up. "Over there," the old man said. Ryo looked where the man pointed. Nearby, he saw Kaori again. Only this time, she was older and wasn't sobbing like last time.

Instead, she knelt before the grave and put some flowers on it. "Merry Christmas, Aniki. It's such a beautiful day! I'm sure you would have loved it!" Tears formed in her eyes and, before she could stop them, slid down her cheeks. She took a handkerchief out and dabbed her eyes with it. "I'm sorry, Aniki. I know I keep promising I won't cry. I can't help it, I still miss you."

She took a deep breath and smiled again. "I'm also sorry that Ryo isn't here. I was hoping I could get him to come this year, but he always has plans. I don't ask what his plans are. I don't want this day ruined, because of what he does. You always spoke highly of him and I understand why. Even though he's a pervert, he's a good man. I'm glad you were friends with him."

Happosai sighed. "What a wonderful girl you have there, Ryo. She's always been there."

"Yeah, always in the way," Ryo mumbled, earning him a crack on the head from the little old man.

"You'd better watch what you say. The future has some dark shadows to it." Happosai hopped down off of Ryo's shoulder.

"What shadows," Ryo asked, turning towards Happosai. Only the old man wasn't there. He wasn't anywhere. Ryo turned back towards the image of Kaori, but she was gone too. "Oi! Happosai! What shadows? Don't leave me here! What about the Ghost of Mokkori Future? Where's he?"

From behind Ryo, a hand, hidden in a long dark sleeve, tapped Ryo on the shoulder. Ryo felling the tap turned to see a figure in a long, dark, hooded robe. The figure lifted it's head, and from within the hood, Ryo saw a ghastly, skeleton face with glowing red eyes. "Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Ryo fainted.


	4. Chapter 4

**You know the drill. Isn't mine.**

A female ghost appeared beside the hooded figure. "Yokoshima-kun," she scolded, "you're not suppose to scare him to death!"

A hand appeared out of each sleeve. One pulled back the hood, while the other yanked off the skeleton mask. He glared at the female ghost. "Ah, Okinu-chan! You never let me have any fun!" He knelt down next to Ryo. "Oi, Ryo! Come on. Wake up!"

Ryo opened his eyes and looked at the figure above him. "Tadao?" The young man nodded. "You're the Ghost of Mokkori Future, ne?" Again Tadao nodded. Ryo sat up. Why did he have the feeling that this was familiar?

Tadao helped him to his feet. "Time to show you the things to come." He held out his sleeve. As soon as Ryo touched it, they were in a room. Outside the window, snow could be seen falling.

"This is my place! Why are we here?"

Tadao pointed to three women sitting on the couch. They all wore black. Miki was weeping openly. Reika sniffled and dabbed her eyes. Saeko sat staring sadly at the wall. Ryo walked up to them, knowing that to jump at them would only cause him to crash into the couch. Plus, he was rather disturbed by their sadness. He turned to Tadao. "What happened? Why..." Tadao was no longer beside him. Instead he was beside the couch trying to look down the top of Saeko's dress. "Oi!"

Tadao looked up. "Oh, like you never did this!" He returned to looking down Saeko's dress. After a moment's thought, Ryo joined him. Their eyes glazed over as they began to drool.

They stopped when Reika spoke. "I still can't believe it! So young!"

Miki nodded. "Only yesterday, we were talking and laughing at the cafe. And now..." She looked up. Her eyes were red and puffy. "Where's..."

"I don't know," Saeko answered. "Hasn't been around since the funeral."

Miki gasped. "You don't think...!"

"Suicide," Reika finished. "I hope not! It's bad enough to lose one!"

"I doubt it," Saeko said, brushing her hair away from her face. "Too strong for that." Then adding, under her breath, "I hope."

Ryo looked over at Tadao. "Who are they talking about? Who died?"

Tadao said nothing, but held out his sleeve. Ryo took it and the room disappeared, to be replaced by a very familiar scene. Ryo turned to glare at Tadao. "What is it with you ghosts and graveyards?"

Tadao pointed at a nearby grave that was covered with a thin layer of fresh snow. "Brush the snow off," Tadao told him. "Look at the name on the grave."

Ryo could hear his heart pounding. Now he knew why this all seemed familiar! It was from that English story. A Christmas Carol! "No! I'm not going to do it!" He looked at Tadao. "I know what will happen. But like the story, this is only what _may_ be, ne?" He bowed down before the ghost. "Please! I don't want to be dead! There are still so many women out there for me! You're a pervert, too! You should understand!"

"Look at the name."

Ryo swallowed hard. He knelt down beside the grave and wiped the snow away. He stared at the grave in confusion. He looked back up at Tadao. "But I already know that Makimura is dead."

"Eh?" Tadao looked over Ryo's shoulder at the grave. "Hideyuki Makimura." Tadao blinked a couple of times. "No! No! NO! Not that one!" He pointed to the grave next to it. A grave that was very fresh. "_That_ one!"

Ryo looked at it. The name was covered by the snow that continued to fall. Ryo made his way to it, uneasily. His breath came in short gasps, his heart pounding so hard, it hurt. He faced death on a continual basis, but it was a very different thing to face you own death. With one quick swipe of his hand across the gravestone, he uncovered the name.

Ryo's heart stopped as the blood drained from his face. Then his heart started pounding even harder, though the blood never seemed to return to his face. He looked at the name on the grave with more horror than he ever felt in his life. The name on the gravestone read: "Kaori Makimura."

Ryo stared at the gravestone in a state of shock. Any name, he could have handled. After all, he had lost so many in his life. His mother, several friends and colleagues, including his best friend. But this. This was more than anything he had ever lost. His hands came down on the gravestone as his head rested itself on the very name engraved into it. He shuddered continuously and his breath was ragged. "No," he barely whispered. "God, no! Not Kaori!"

Tadao stood just behind him, looking down at the grave. "She was very pretty. So sweet and caring. Such a shame that no one, other than her brother, loved her."

"No!" Ryo raised his head but didn't look up from the grave. "I did! I loved her!" A tear rolled down his cheek followed by another. "I loved her more than anything."

"But you never told her. She never knew."

Ryo had no answer. He just knelt before the grave staring at the name. Finally, he asked. "How did she die?"

"A client who was a man. You didn't take the case, but she did. As you might guess, it was too much for her. She died quickly, so she didn't suffer."

"And that's suppose to make me feel better?"

Tadao stared at him, before saying quietly, "it's time to go."

"No! Wait! Like in that English story, I can change this, ne? Tell me that I can prevent this death! Please!"

"It's time to go." Tadao faded, along with the graveyard. Before he completely faded, Tadao's distant voice said, "remember what you saw this night. Remember it, Ryo."

Ryo woke to find that he was lying on the floor.

He sat up and looked around. He was in his room again. Pale light was coming through the curtains. It was morning, but what day? Getting to his feet, he ran out the door. "Kaori-chan! Kaori-chan!"

"I'm here, Ryo," she called from the kitchen.

He ran into the kitchen. Sure enough, there she stood. She turned to him as he entered. "How are you feeling?"

"Kaori-chan, what day is this?"

"Why it's Christmas Day."

"Christmas Day! Yatta! The ghosts did it all in one night!"

A sweat-drop appeared on Kaori's head. 'Maybe I hit him one time too many,' she thought. "Ah, breakfast is ready." He took a breath and calmed himself. Kaori was alive and safe, and he was going to make sure she stayed that way. He sat down at the table, as Kaori set breakfast down.

"Ne, Kaori-chan. How's about we visit Makimura's grave today? It's been a long time since I've been there."

Kaori's eyes softened. "Sure, Ryo." 'Maybe that hit on the head did the trick. Maybe it's made him a new man. A better man.'

Ryo stood at the grave-site, while Kaori placed the flowers on top of the stone. 'Arigato, Makimura,' Ryo thought. 'And don't worry, I'll keep my promise to you. I'll make sure that Kaori is well taken care of.' A moment later, a vision caught his eye.

"Arigato, Ryo," Kaori said, "I really appreciate..." She stopped, when she looked up and saw that Ryo was no longer there.

"What's a lovely lady like you doing here all alone," Ryo asked of a young woman, who was also visiting the graveyard.

"RYO!" Ryo took off running, as mallet-toting Kaori gave chase.

Five figures appeared by the gravestone. They gave a collective sigh. Finally, Ataru turned to Makimura. "Well, at least you tried."

**THE END**


End file.
